Thursday, March 29, 2007

The Pajamas Media team are still following the Iranian hostage crisis redux, providing valuable links and commentary. Just keep scrolling...

Another Pajamas report here, on whether California will play the divestiture card.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

The most interesting thing I saw today. (Not quite as exciting as seeing flaming space debris flying past the window of an airplane, but still...)
I thought this was interesting, in that wait, what?, holy crap kind of way...

"Droolworthy in their coolness"...? Uh, not so much, but I'm neither a fishing geek nor a Japanophile. I did, however, at one time enjoy punk music...

Monday, March 26, 2007

Pretty interesting view of the world -- The full essay can be read here.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Doing what they do best, the Iranians have seized 15 members of the British Navy. An escalation, a provocation, and business as usual, all in one.

This is more complicated than it appears, and it appears pretty complicated. Don't miss this must-read analysis on what Tehran is thinking and planning, and be sure to check out Belmont's comment about how a simple provocation puts all the pressure on the challenged party to properly respond.

The Pajamas team has a full round-up of coverage...
Hazel Mae is evidently making wedding plans. With a non-roster infielder in the Blue Jays camp. Red, trying not to sound too bitter, is understandably quite bitter...

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Saturday, March 17, 2007

A few weeks ago a man in the building where I work died tragically and suddenly of a massive coronary. This has prompted the installation of a few defibrillators throughout the building.

Unrelatedly, Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) muses about defibrillators, and then has a Subway sandwich...
Last week I did some reminiscing about David Byrne & Talking Heads, and I never did get around to mentioning just how smart and together he really is. Boing Boing points us to a presentation Byrne did just a couple of days ago where he talks about the future of the music industry...Hint: it's a dire prognosis, and why shouldn't it be? They've gotten everything exactly wrong for the past 10 years...

Boing Boing also calls out the RIAA for general stupidity and thuggery, which they'll eventually learn doesn't play where free markets meet technology...

Friday, March 16, 2007

Red has put together a very nice St. Paddy's playlist...

And speaking of The Pogues:

If I Should Fall From Grace with God

Man, I've always loved that song. I saw The Pogues once and watched Shane MacGowan fall down on the stage from drunkenness and exhaustion when he finished singing that song, and I didn't begrudge him even one little bit...

Monday, March 12, 2007

Well why not, there are enough of them out there...it's the Carnival of Funny Videos.

If you're looking for something more traditional (is blogging old enough now so that something bloggy can thought of as "traditional"?), here's the latest Carnival of the Recipes.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

A supply and demand imbalance in Manhattan is causing some parents to pimp their two year olds...Not to worry, though. It's all in the interest of securing an Ivy League admission. Eventually.

Why do I mention this? Why, because the latest Carnival of Homeschooling is up!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

That rumor about France's precautionary surrender in the wake of the Swiss military incursion into Lichtenstein just won't go away...

Saturday, March 03, 2007

It's the feel-good soccer story of the year: Nine months after host Germany's unexpected run to the World Cup semi-final, German maternity wards are booked solid.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Switzerland invades Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein seems understandably sanguine. Reports of a French surrender are debunked...
Bring On The Night

So The Police, unable to turn away from the promise of filthy lucre, are reuniting for a world tour. The tour happens to stop by my neighborhood, and I have no intention of missing it.

I'm not a big Sting fan, but his punk-filled days with The Police were fun and energetic, before he got himself preoccupied with his navel.

I actually saw The Police in concert a couple of times, lo all those years ago, and I have an amusing Sting story: he'd been out on stage for a few songs when someone threw a beer can at him, because that's what punkers did. I'm sure it was empty; we were punks, but not stupid. Anyway, it infuriated him, and he threw it right back into the face of the guy that threw it at him. Hilarious. Sting, the effeminate wanker, trying to act all tough. It was one of those mosh pit scenes, but we all stopped and laughed. He seemed to get over it with one of those stern "if you do that again" kind of lectures, and finished the set.

It's my one and only Sting/Police memory.

I do remember another time watching Talking Heads from up close when someone threw a full beer at David Byrne, also hilarious, but for different reasons. First of all, he managed to see it coming and ducked deftly out of the way. I thought that was interesting. Then the beer hit the drum kit behind him, which is when I realized it was full. Nice effect; a scream. Byrne just popped back up, never missed a beat or a word of the song he was singing. Brilliant. But here's the thing: anyone that's ever seen David Byrne and Talking Heads live knows that he sings with that spooky thousand-yard-stare, like he's not even in the room. How did he ever see that beer can sailing at him out of the black? Impressive...
It's the latest Carnival of Bauer! Because it's always good to know what Jack's up to and to be sure, you know, he's not hanging around your town. Because mayhem would undoubtedly ensue...